Hazards of Welding Fumes

Welding produces hazardous fumes that must be controlled to safeguard employee respiratory and overall health. Welding exposes metals to high levels of heat creating gaseous fumes and nano-particles. The hazards of welding fumes depend on the contents of the metal, the type of welding process, and the frequency of welding. Fume extractors must be utilized to protect employees from the hazards of welding fumes as NIOSH states that respirators alone do not provide adequate protection1.

Metal Composition Effect on Hazards of Welding Fumes

First, the type of metal and concentration of each substance determines the level of severity of health hazards for welding fumes. The most common types of metal for welding are stainless steel, mild steel, and galvanized steel. The hazards of welding fumes by metal type are discussed below as well as a chart summarizing government regulations for each metal type.

Other Metal Types

Types of Welding Effect on Hazards of Welding Fumes

Next, different types of welding affects the concentration of hazardous welding fumes thus increasing the health hazards. Below are the different types of welding listed in order of most fumes produced to the least amount of fumes by metal type.

2) Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) – concentrations are very close to shielded metal arc welding (Figure 3)1. Other types of gas metal arc welding such as short circuit and pulsed spray have much less fume production (Figure 2)10. Short circuit produces a quarter of the shielded metal arc welding hexavalent chromium fumes10. Pulsed spray welding has the least amount of hexavalent chromium fume concentrations.

Frequency Effect on Hazards of Welding Fumes

Worker Type

Health

Mean Cancer Risk

Maintenance

Asthma

0.34%

Healthy

0.3%

Project

Asthma

1.14%

Healthy

1.04%

Figure 4: Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risks based on health and type of welder11

Lastly, the hazards welding fumes and lung cancer risks can vary depending on if a welder works as a project or maintenance worker. See Figure 4 for the mean cancer risk for a study of 30 Iranian workers over a lifetime. The main contributing factory was whether a welder worked full-time or did it on selective maintenance type basis. This study also compared previous respiratory ailments such as asthma to health workers, but the difference was minimal11. In a 2017 Canadian population study, full-time welders chance of developing health hazards were compared to occasional welders12. The full-time welders had a 16% increased chance of developing lung cancer, 78% risk for mesothelioma, 40% increased risk for bladder cancer and 30% increased risk of kidney cancer. Occasional welders had a 12% increased risk in developing lung cancer and 74% increased risk for mesothelioma with no increased risk for bladder or kidney cancer. This may mean that even minimal exposure to welding fumes on a part-time basis can pose health hazards as serious as developing cancer.

Welding Fumes Control Solutions

To properly control welding fumes, Sentry Air Systems offers a wide variety of fume control solutions. Sentry Air Systems provides benefits of flame retardant hoses and filter media, as well as small portable options adaptable for all types of welding situations. A self-supportive arm can be directed at the welding fume source or a “python” extra flexible hose allows the operator to attach the magnetic hood directly to a nearby surface.

Filters Available:
• HEPA (Up to 99.97% efficiency on particles down to 0.5 microns in size)
• ASHRAE (Up to 95% efficiency on particles down to 0.5 microns in size)
• ULPA (Up to 99.9995% efficiency on particles down to 0.12 microns in size)

Filters Available:
• HEPA (Up to 99.97% efficiency on particles down to 0.5 microns in size)
• ASHRAE (Up to 95% efficiency on particles down to 0.5 microns in size)
• ULPA (Up to 99.9995% efficiency on particles down to 0.12 microns in size)